Lauren & Oliver

From succulents in the bride’s bouquet to a doughnut tower wedding cake, this couple threw a celebration that nails all the wedding trends!

It was October in Barcelona when Oliver proposed to Lauren. “He asked me to marry him with a diamond ring on our first evening in the city. We had the rooftop terrace to ourselves. I was so stunned Ollie had to prompt me for an answer, but of course I said yes!” Lauren gushes.

The bride tried on almost 30 dresses before before she found her Morilee gown in Proposals, Crawley. “It immediately jumped out at me thanks to its blush colour, although it was the opposite of what I’d ever imagined choosing!”

“The soft glow to the colour suited my skin tone perfectly.”

The Morilee fishtail dress featured appliqué embroidery and a crystal and pearl brooch. The bride added an intricate tiara, keeping the rest of her jewellery understated for balance. A pair of her great grandmother’s diamond earrings, her mother’s veil and Carvela Kurt Geiger shoes completed Lauren’s look.

Oliver and his groomsmen hired their outfits from Broadbridges, Burgess Hill. Opting for three-piece lounge suits in royal blue, they added paisley ties in pink and blue from Moss Bros to add the finishing touch.

Kirstie and Chloe, Lauren’s two younger sisters, attended her as bridesmaids, also wearing dresses from Proposals. “They wore the chiffon halterneck ‘Cilla’ design by Romantica of Devon teamed with Rainbow Club court shoes.”

Trusted friend Siobhan, who heads up Beauty In Spires, took care of Lauren’s makeup, balancing the need for the makeup to show up in photographs with her usually natural look. Tammy, who runs A Flair 4 Hair, took the reins for the bride’s hair styling. “I can be quite fussy when it comes to my hair and always wear it down, but I wanted something different and let Tammy decide. I was not disappointed!”

Lauren and Oliver tied the knot with a civil ceremony in the glasshouse at Wickwoods Country Club, West Sussex.

“We were sold from the very first day we visited. I loved the bright and modern orangery and the reception room layout was brilliant with a bar in the same room.”

When it came to the speeches, the father of the bride’s blew all others out the water. “Dad compiled home videos and photographs of me as a baby right through to present day. It featured loved ones who are no longer with us and was so poignant.”

With a humourous obsession with moustaches, what better theme for this couple to choose than exactly that? “We added nine moustache styles to each table and had photographs taken with ‘thank you’ moustaches for our cards later.”

Large royal blue balloons, O and L candles and wooden painted letters, mercury tea lights and birdcages decorated the tables. “My very talented mum and sisters also made bunting from old music paper.”

Katherine Bly arranged the flowers. The bouquet featured cappuccino and avalanche roses, succulents, brunia, senecio and eucalyptus cinerea. The table centres followed a similar floral note, adding spray roses, white hyrangeas and eucalyptus parviflora to the mix. “Katherine creates exactly what you want and throws brilliant ideas on the table if you get stuck. Everything was perfect!”

The couple opted for a doughnut-inspired wedding cake!

The tiers were filled with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, decorated with primrose flowers, and topped with a six-inch lemon sponge cake. “My good friend Rebecca who runs Greenlane Cupcake Company created it for us and we had a wooden laser-cut name sign for a cake topper.”

Jars of honey formed perfect favours, with charming tags that read ‘Love is sweet, thanks for making our day complete’.

The party got off to a flying start with Oomphf, a high-energy funk pop band taking to the stage. “I’d seen them play live 18 months before we got engaged and told my sister that if I ever got married, I’d choose them for my wedding. Everyone raved about them!”

“Half way through our first dance we spontaneously swapped partners so I danced with my father and Oliver danced with his mum. It worked perfectly!”

The newlyweds honeymooned in the Maldives, travelling to the island of Komandoo for 11 nights. “We booked through Tropical Sky and spent our time snorkelling and kayaking as well as enjoying a sunset cruise, spa day and sushi making class!”

“Don’t scrimp on your photographer. We wanted the best so we knew we had to be on the ball and book early – and boy are we glad we did!”

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